Links I’m Likin’

Ever have data loss? I ran Disk Doctor once, thinking I’d be cleaning up my goofy hard drive. Well, it works..and – poof! – everything on my computer disappeared, never to be seen again. Sign up for Crashplan and back up your data off your computer. (Thanks Michael!)

Speaking of which – you might want to back up your Flickr or Facebook accounts? Backify will take care of that for you.

I’ve been deluged with desperate requests for macaron tips. Here’s my round-up of techniques and troubleshooting for Making French Macarons. And that’s all I can tell ya’…

Although I usually use Kayak for planning a trip, Hipmunk let’s you plan your trip with various factors, including layovers, flight duration, or stopovers, which you can search and filter by the “Agony” factor.

Who the heck has a fax machine anymore? Well, apparently some very, very stubborn people still want faxes. Hello Fax allows you to fax for free (up to 5 pages/month) right from your computer. (Thanks Kris!)

I’ve become a bit obsessed with Thai food lately. So yes, I want to make everything here.

Tired of paying insane prices for cool eyewear in France? Thanks to Jimmy Fairly, you can get vintage-style glasses at a reasonable price, delivered, with a free trial. (And there’s a showroom in Paris, too.) You can also designate a pair to be donated to people in need. (Thanks Heather!)

(In the US, Warby Parker has retro glasses at similar prices as well.)

I’m not sure, but I think you have to back them up to an external hard drive? If so, those things have a way of going wonky. I used to use Backup in my Mac account (which was $99/yr) and it never worked, but Crashplan is free, or there are paid versions as well. One thing I really like about them is that they answered my email questions and they have telephone support, which was very helpful when I ran into a minor glitch.

Thank you! I find good resources are the backbone of what makes life easiest and saves time for more fun things. Appreciate all you shared.

M. O'Reilly

October 28, 2011 5:47pm

Some of these sites are useful – thanks. And it sure seems the Guardian likes you, too!

Glenn from St. Paul

October 28, 2011 6:25pm

I particularly liked the photo, which prompted me to play Google tourist and look for the location in Paris. For anyone interested in taking a little street-view stroll around the tip of Île de la Cité, here’s a Google map link http://g.co/maps/47ss4.

Linda H

October 28, 2011 8:34pm

The Guardian site certainly has lots of down-with-America comments, but I can’t argue with the opinions they have about the popular American “chefs” that assemble stuff from cans and the freezer. Terrible. Fortunately most Americans think they are a joke, too.

Susan

October 28, 2011 8:42pm

I too just spent about 20 minutes reading the Guardian article (and the comments) that you linked above. I’m glad you linked this particular article. I was proud to see some American sites proposed by the writer. I was not suprised by some of the comments. It seems there will always be people defending their own ways of food preparation by bashing others’ methods, (and that includes the chef bashing, too) It happens regionally here in the U.S. as well. I will never understand the bashing, I guess. The point is, the world of food has been opened to everyone who cares about the possibilities and there are sites that explain how to convert measurements (as well as products available) and substitute ingredients or at least define some of the vernacular used so that anyone (who is really serious about cooking) has the opportunity look at or try new things. I’ve never been easily more informed and/or happier as a home cook. How lucky are we?

Tracey

October 28, 2011 9:18pm

I adore this picture and would love to walk there. Would you mind telling me the address? Thank you so much for your consideration.

David, can you include a link for your own website? You deserve too. I read a lot of food related sites all the time and you seem to have the most tasty, unpretentious, well-organized, slightly pornish, just plain cute website of them all. Keep up the good work.

Debra

October 29, 2011 3:04am

Congratulations on your rave review in The Guardian, well deserved. And thanks for the Thai food blog, looks great. Can’t wait to try her satay peanut sauce.

interesting links, I am mostly backing up on my external hard disk drive, maybe I should try something else to be safe and the Thai food blog is amazing! not I am craving for Thai, which is not at all common here where I live.

Fun post! But I have to tell you how much I like that first photo… such beautiful composition. I love it!

Cyndy

October 30, 2011 3:38am

@ Tracey, that street, I believe, is place Dauphine, in the 1ere.

Nicole

October 31, 2011 8:15pm

David – if you like to go out for Thai – I found a great place called Mme Shawn. You may already know about this place – but if not here’s the details. I went to the one located at 56 rue Lancry in the 10th. It was fabulous!

Beautiful books like Curtan’s “Chez Panisse Menus” don’t deserve to be trapped on a bookshelf. I’d love to prop the book open on a bookshelf, mantle, or counter, so I can gaze at the wonderful images within. Does anyone make a tool that would let me do that? I know about cookbook holders (and have one or two), but they have that ugly (yet functional) plastic cover, which would get in the way of the art. A tricky thing about this idea is to be able to hold the book open to any page — not a simple task, to be sure.

Linda

November 1, 2011 5:16pm

Great links… especially Hello Fax will come in handy…. and Crashplan… I NEED a crash plan…I’ve been livin’ on a prayer